WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Penn College dropped its conference opener, 78-67, against Penn State Abington in a United East men's basketball game Wednesday. The Wildcats fell to 0-1 UE, 1-7 overall, while the Nittany Lions improved to 1-0, 1-8.

How it happened: Deadlocked at 28-28 at halftime, Abington used a 21-7 run to open the second half with a 49-35 lead. Penn College fought back with a run of its own and tied the game at 51-51, with 9:41 remaining following a 16-2 run, led by seven points from Peyton Murphy, five by Ethan Roman, and four from Octavio Alexander. The Lions answered with a 12-2 spurt and never trailed the remainder of the game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-6 lead after Roman's layup with 12 minutes left in the opening half and fought off a surge from the Lions to maintain an eight-point, 19-11 advantage, after a Landon Reeder freebie with 7:13 left before the break. Abington netted nine-straight to take a 20-19 lead with 4:35 on the clock until Alexander's layup with 2:58 made it 26-22. Abington closed out the half with a 6-2 run to tie the game at halftime.

Inside the box: Roman finished with a team-high 14 points, Alexander added 12, and Murphy finished with 10. Jay Henry dished out a game-best eight assists, while Jennsyn Shuey grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Up next: Penn College returns to action Friday, 6 p.m., at Elmira College.